


The First Meeting

by Laveycee



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, Human AU, dw secret santa, written for gallifreyanbookclub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 14:24:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2854088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laveycee/pseuds/Laveycee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four short chapters about the first meetings of two couples.  One pair is very young, while the other is university-age.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for DW Secret Santa 2014; merry Christmas, Gallifreyanbookclub!  
> Originally this was going to be nine chapters; however, that didn't work out quite as planned.  
> "Beta"ed by my cousin's husband Matthew.

The first thing Rory Williams had ever noticed about Amelia Pond was how _loud_ she was. The second and third things were noticed nearly simultaneously: the distinctive Scottish accent popped out, as did her mop of red hair. He spent the entire school day sitting behind her, looking at the odd color. When his dad picked him up, the first thing out of Rory's mouth was "Amelia Pond came to school today."

"Who's that?" Brian asked.

Rory considered this question briefly. "She's pretty," Rory said. "And loud," he added as an afterthought.

 

The next day, Rory gave Amelia the cookie that had been in his lunchbox.

She looked up from her drawing, and considered him for a moment. "Thank you," she said, accepting the cookie.

"What're you drawing?" Rory asked.

"I dunno," she said, "but I saw a big blue box last night when I was asleep."

"Cool," Rory said. He decided that it was okay to sit with Amelia.

She didn't say anything, but gave him a piece of paper and moved the little bin of crayons closer to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for DW Secret Santa 2014; merry Christmas, Gallifreyanbookclub!  
> Originally this was going to be nine chapters; however, that didn't work out quite as planned.  
> "Beta"ed by my cousin's husband Matthew.

Amelia Pond did not want to be in England. She wanted to be in Scotland with her parents. (Her aunt, she had decided, was evil. Only she was really good at hiding it, so everybody thought it was okay for Amelia to live there.) Her entire first day of school was spent enduring teasing about her accent, her hair, and how loud she was. (The last bit was mainly from the older students. Amelia didn't really care, because she was slowly working on a plan to get back to Scotland.)

When her aunt picked her up, Amelia didn't say anything. Not during the car ride, nor when she got home. She just went upstairs to the bedroom she had been given, and tried praying to Santa. Santa could do anything, her parents had always told her; maybe he could send her back to Scotland. And give her parents back.

Her aunt called her down for dinner, which they ate in silence. Amelia trudged back upstairs and got into her pajamas. The last thing she remembered was sitting on her bed, then the dreams with the blue box started. Then her aunt shook her awake.

 

During free time, a boy came up to Amelia while she was busily drawing the box from her dreams. He looked nice, and she didn't remember him teasing her yesterday. She took the cookie that he offered her. "Thank you," she said, like her parents had taught her.

"What're you drawing?" Rory wanted to know.

"I dunno," she said, "but I saw a big blue box last night when I was asleep." She was tempted to say more than that, tell him about the wonderful places she had dreamed about, but didn't.

When he plopped down beside her, she was a bit surprised, but let him stay. She didn't know what to say, but she did know that she disliked people looking over her shoulder as she drew. So she dug out a bit of paper and moved the carton of crayons closer to him; a silent hint to be quiet. She decides to go ahead and like Rory when he doesn't speak.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for DW Secret Santa 2014; merry Christmas, Gallifreyanbookclub!  
> Originally this was going to be nine chapters; however, that didn't work out quite as planned.  
> "Beta"ed by my cousin's husband Matthew.

There are a few things in the world that are undeniably true. War is evil. Chips are really tasty. Donna Noble is one of the loudest humans in existence. Writing essays for school is irritating. Things like that are what people agree on unanimously.

The first thing that people tended to think when they met Donna was "Wow, she's really loud." Donna was loud, her friends were loud, her family was loud; her entire world was loud. Donna didn't tend to notice the ones who were quieter--unless they were too quiet. She had a softer side, but most people were blindsided by the slightly abrasive personality of the vibrant redhead.

The first day of university, Donna ran into--quite literally--a very quiet, very wet boy. When she knocked him over, he looked surprised, sitting on the ground. When Donna offered him her hand, he looked even more surprised.

"Come on, then," Donna said with a laugh. "Up you get."

The boy accepted her hand. He offered a quiet, rather stilted, "Thank you."

"I'm Donna," she said. "Suppose you should know the name of the girl who knocked you down."

"Lee," he replied.

"Hi, Lee," Donna said. "...Sorry about running you over; I'm late for my business management class, so I've really gotta go--"

Donna ran off, not looking back. She couldn't be late again; Professor Saxon would _kill_ her!

Lee didn't cross her mind again until much later, when Saxon was droning on about public relations and how people needed to like and trust their government workers (he then muttered something about some bloke named "Tucker" and "can't be likable to save his life"). She wondered about who he was, what he was studying, if he would like to go out to dinner--or for coffee, Donna wasn't picky--and if he would actually like her. She smiled slightly to herself. Maybe she'd go the same way tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Donna's "business management" class is meant to be for upper-level business bosses and so on. I'm not quite sure what it's called in the UK (I tried looking it up on Oxford's website--which is really nicely done--but gave it up after a while; if anyone knows without a shadow of a doubt what it should be called, I'd be very appreciative!). The "Tucker" mentioned is played by Peter Capaldi in the movie "In The Loop" (it's really good, but it's has rather a lot of swearing).


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for DW Secret Santa 2014; merry Christmas, Gallifreyanbookclub!  
> Originally this was going to be nine chapters; however, that didn't work out quite as planned.  
> "Beta"ed by my cousin's husband Matthew.

Lee McAvoy wasn't the most sociable bloke on the planet. He knew that, and accepted it about himself. Most of the time, anyway. Sometimes he wished that he was able to open up and actually talk to people, instead of being run over or used as a welcome mat.

He was studying psychology, and Professor Smith often told him that he needed to become more open, and that he needed to learn to speak up. His speech impediment, she said, was a result of being afraid of saying the wrong thing. She said that all he needed to do was learn some techniques to "fight" his anxiety. Lee tried; really, he did, but nothing seemed to work. This resulted in his mono-syllable responses.

At some point, Lee decided that it didn't matter whether or not he got past his stutter; he'd rather live with it and help others. When he was older, he set his sights on getting a doctorate in clinical psychology. His family thought that he was insane--who wanted to listen to other people's problems, after all?--but supported him quietly.

The day that Lee's life changed was a dreary Tuesday, as is often the case, when he was running late to class. Of course, life can never be that simple: his coffeemaker was broken, all the coffee shops on campus were closed, some jerk drove through a puddle and drenched him, and--on top of all that--some idiots were holding a rally through his usual route to class, making him take a detour that added at least five minutes to his travel time! Lee was certain that there was absolutely no way his day could get any worse.

Then, some red-headed girl apparently didn't see him and knocked him to the ground. Lee was shocked; he was sure that there hadn't been anyone there a second before, and there was no way that anyone could move _that_ fast. Maybe he was exceptionally unobservant today?

The girl offered him a hand, shocking him further. Most people would have simply snapped something--usually rude, but occasionally a quick "Sorry"--and run off to class.

"Come on, then," the girl laughed. "Up you get."

Lee hesitated a split second more, then took her hand. He took a breath. _Don't stutter don't stutter don't stutter don't stutter--_ "Thank you." It came out much quieter than he would have liked, and with a slightly formal and stiff tone, but at least it came out properly.

"I'm Donna," the girl-- _Donna_ , Lee corrected himself--said. "Suppose you should know the name of the girl who knocked you down."

"Lee," he offered. _Really? You idiot, not even an "I'm Lee"? You're not Beyonce, or James Bond!_

"Hi, Lee," Donna said. "...Sorry about running you over; I'm late for my business management class, so I've really gotta go--"

Lee watched her run off. It could have been a lie, a direct brush-off; she could have been one of those jerks who knocked someone over, but wasn't really sorry. _Not Donna_ , he decided. He may not have known her--at all--but he somehow knew that Donna didn't do insincere.

Lee didn't know how he was going to be able to find her again, but somehow he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the End of the Line. I hope that anyone reading has enjoyed, and... happy holidays and happy New Year to you all!  
> Oh, and if you would be so kind as to tell me what you thought, I would be very appreciative.


End file.
